“If other zombie games are focused on survival, Darkist Days noted the hit and pleasure of excitingly popping zombies.”
NHN’s zombie shooter RPG game “Darkist Days” is speeding up its efforts to strengthen content and target globally based on the initial performance and feedback of the open beta test (OBT). Producer Kim Dong-sun, general manager of “Darkist Days,” and director Jung Jung-jae, head of the game business, recently met with Mail Business to reveal the current status of test operations and future plans.
“Darkist Days” is a mobile and PC cross-platform game that continues to survive by repelling zombies by using various weapons and action elements. The game, which started the Open Beta Test (OBT) in April, is a new work that NHN has ambitiously prepared to expand its genre from its existing strength, web board genre, to shooting, and to prove the game industry’s presence again in the global market.
Regarding the status of use by country during the test period, Director Chung said, “Currently, mobile is dominant with 24% of all users and mobile with 76%. By country, India, the United States, and Brazil account for 30% of the total, and Korea is about 7%. It also mentioned that while Korea has a relatively high proportion of PC use, more than 99% of India and Brazil are mobile users.
The main part of the overall feedback during the test period is that content consumption was fast. PD Kim said, “Many users quickly reached the 40th level (highest level), and since then, many pointed out that the content is centered on player-to-player (PvP), and we are preparing to reinforce content centered on player-to-environment (PvE).” Director Chung also explained, “We are developing a system that acquires experience values through hunting and connects them to character growth,” adding, “We are pursuing a direction in which PvP and PvE coexist in a balanced way.”
![Daquist Days Resident Expedition. [Picture = NHN]](https://zombiegaming.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/news-pv1202506033a183a5551294f7f834018854a04edd7_P1.png)
In terms of the profit model (BM), the key is the ‘resident’ system. Director Chung said, “It is a structure that creates his own shelter and collects colleagues in the world of Apocalypse,” adding, “We are improving BM centering on attractive resident characters.” In the large-scale update this month, a content called “Residents Expedition” will be added, which allows residents to explore tile-type maps and earn rewards with their vehicles.
Asked about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, PD Kim said he is preparing to introduce a GPT-4.1-based chatbot that provides real-time responses to user questions in in-game chat for overseas users. If the response is good in the future, it is being developed at a company-wide level so that AI can be used for product recommendations, expanding its functions.
In addition, it regularly sends “developer letters” to communicate with users, and is also considering introducing a communication method similar to the disclosure of priorities based on user voting, which is usually used overseas.
Director Chung said, “There is a burden that it is NHN’s representative game, but I think we have been making decisions in a healthy and right direction,” adding, “We will focus on improving early entry barriers and first impressions than figures such as sales.” PD Kim also said, “Every time I receive affectionate feedback from users, I feel a sense of responsibility,” and added, “I will trim it well until the end so that I can meet those expectations.”
